UMVA has learned that Philippine stocks plummeted to the 6,100 range on Wednesday, succumbing to extended profit taking and investor caution ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) policy meeting.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) suffered a significant drop of 2.09% or 130.94 points, closing at 6,114.81, while the broader all shares index decreased by 1.27% or 43.53 points to end at 3,381.5.
Investors were seen trading cautiously, bracing for a possible rate hike of at least 25 basis points (bps) by the BSP, as they awaited the central bank's policy decision. This cautious approach was reflected in the market's performance, with players opting for profit taking following a sharp increase in the index.
Market analysts noted that investors remained on the sidelines, awaiting further cues from monetary policy developments. The Philippine market's decline was also attributed to profit taking on heavyweight International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), which was the worst index performer on Wednesday.
ICTSI's shares plunged by P60 or 6.25% to P900 each, while Globe Telecom, Inc. emerged as the day's index leader, jumping 5.05% to P1,809 apiece. This surge was driven by the company's announcement that its board had approved the filing of a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a listing application with the PSE for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its affiliate Mynt, Inc.
The planned offering would be equivalent to 12% of Mynt's total outstanding capital stock after the IPO, with shares to be offered consisting of both primary and secondary shares. This development seemed to have boosted investor confidence in Globe Telecom, Inc.
Most sectoral indices closed lower, with Services sinking by 4.58% or 154.26 points to 3,207.25, and holding firms sliding by 2.66% or 118.58 points to 4,323.79. The decline was broad-based, with mining and oil, property, and industrials also experiencing losses.
However, financials bucked the trend, rising by 1.36% or 26.11 points to 1,935.45. The market's overall performance was weak, with decliners outnumbering advancers, 90 to 72, while 62 names remained unchanged.
The value turnover decreased to P8.26 billion, with 567.15 million shares traded, down from the P11.80 billion with 862.02 million issues that changed hands on the previous day. Net foreign selling stood at P127.54 million, reversing the previous session's net buying of P939.97 million.
